How to shim lintels (process/materials etc)?

[g8dy]

Try not to over think it, the best solution is the one that you have materials for. If you really want, you can use oak folding wedges.

It doesn't matter really.

thankyou, this take some of the stress out of doing this for the first time

Why do you need shims? Why can’t you just bed each end on a dryish

why do you need shims ? Why can’t you just bed each end on mortar and level up ? Also 50mm is too small really you should be looking at something similar to the width of the lintel and 150mm long at each end
50mm is a very small point load and although you may be pushing in extra mortar it’s the shims that will be taking the pressure also it’s better to use sharp/concreting sand to bed on as builders sand shrinks

Only reason I was thinking of shim was because I've never laid any brick before so I was thinking Ill take my time getting it all level with shims and then just pack out.
But It would probably be quicker to just lay a strip or mortar and set each one down as i go. I just got some string and will need to get a string level, if i can get those setup maybe this is the way to go. Ive never done any of this before so a bit wary

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You really are over thinking this. If your blockwork is something like level lay some mortar on the blocks, drop the lintel, bed it down and check the level. If it's not level, lift the lower end, stick some more mortar in, bed it down again, check the level again.

 

[toolsntat]

How stable is the paving stone ?
It's no good having the most efficient packing in the world if the substrate is not load supporting.
Cheers, Andy

 

[johnny]

Hi all, have been searching through internet for videos on how to shim a lintel and can't find anything. Would appreciate any advice on how to do this.

I'll be laying 1500mm long lintels in rows of 2 to span a total of 3000mm. 1800mm of the lintel will be on a concrete base and the remaining will be laid over paving stone. So there is about 10-50mm to fill from the wonky paving stones.

My plan:

Use steel shims (50mm x 50mm squares) at either end of each lintel and raise all the lintels to highest point as nessecary.

Next part im stuck on....what to do next? Lay a bed of mortar to fill the gap between the steel shim?
Do you also encase the steel shims in the mortar too or remove once the mortar has set?
Do you use mortar or something else?
Is there a limit to how high can you shim a lintel?
Will the steel rust, can you just use mild steel?

this is a rather confusing description , it would be very helpful if you were to explain what you are trying to achieve with the lintels and what you intend to support with them .?

You do not say what the lintels are made of ? one assumes concrete . Neither do you say what the width of the lintels are which will determine the size of any necessary end or intermediate supports.

If you are using lintels to span any void or gap why would you want to support the lintels under the gaps ? The point of using a lintel is to span any gap, obviating the need for intermediate support .

The important thing is to determine the loading and calculate an adequate sized lintel . Then make sure that each end of the lintel is adequately supported so that any loading is transferred to the the ground The width and length of any packing or shims that you use will be determined by the width of the lintel and the supporting structure..

Many Building Controls no longer sanction the use of slate as pads for lintels and prefer steel plate shims .

 

[toolsntat]

Thread context......


Thread 'extending concrete base with a concrete trench, bad idea?' extending concrete base with a concrete trench, bad idea?

 

[Adam W.]

It's a shed then.

No building control required.

 

[Dave Moore]

This is what I was thinking too, the shims are just there to get the thing level, the full bed of mortar underneath does most of the heavy lifting

It’s the packers that take the weight, the mortar only fills any gaps that’s why slate is often used as it doesn’t compress easily.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Mortar seems to work perfectly well between endless rows of concrete blocks.

 

[g8dy]

You really are over thinking this. If your blockwork is something like level lay some mortar on the blocks, drop the lintel, bed it down and check the level. If it's not level, lift the lower end, stick some more mortar in, bed it down again, check the level again.

Thanks for these simple instructions, this is how I'll probably approach the task.

How stable is the paving stone ?
It's no good having the most efficient packing in the world if the substrate is not load supporting.
Cheers, Andy

Are you referring to the paving stones next to my concrete base? I really don't know Im afraid, but they are laid on 60mm of mortar it seems

this is a rather confusing description , it would be very helpful if you were to explain what you are trying to achieve with the lintels and what you intend to support with them .?

You do not say what the lintels are made of ? one assumes concrete . Neither do you say what the width of the lintels are which will determine the size of any necessary end or intermediate supports.

If you are using lintels to span any void or gap why would you want to support the lintels under the gaps ? The point of using a lintel is to span any gap, obviating the need for intermediate support .

The important thing is to determine the loading and calculate an adequate sized lintel . Then make sure that each end of the lintel is adequately supported so that any loading is transferred to the the ground The width and length of any packing or shims that you use will be determined by the width of the lintel and the supporting structure..

Many Building Controls no longer sanction the use of slate as pads for lintels and prefer steel plate shims .

Concrete lintels, 100mm x 65mm. Ill be laying them down on the 100mm side so they will raise the shed floor 65mm off the floor.
I basically need some way of raising my shed floor off the ground. Half the shed floor will be on a current concrete base and the rest will be on paving stones next to the concrete base. The paving stones are not level to the concrete base so this is the issue.

It’s the packers that take the weight, the mortar only fills any gaps that’s why slate is often used as it doesn’t compress easily.

confusing

 

[MikeJhn]

Have you thought about using concrete fence post instead, much less expensive and have a recess for the shed wall to fit into, space out the cladding over the post to form a rainwater drip.